Margot Robbie is set to produce a new big-screen adaptation of a famous video game series, and it might just be the star’s next big hit. 2023 proved to be a good year for Robbie, following the incredible box-office success that was Barbie. Now, it appears, Robbie is turning her attention toward a film version of a best-selling video game series, and it might just be the adaptation we didn’t know we needed.
Not only has Robbie continued to star in some highly-rated movies, but in recent years, she has taken on increasingly more active roles behind the scenes. LuckyChap Entertainment, the production company owned by Robbie and her husband, Tom Ackerley, has been responsible for a number of popular titles in recent years, including I, Tonya, Birds of Prey, Promising Young Woman, and the aforementioned Barbie movie. Now, the company has set its sights on a new challenge: a big-screen adaptation of The Sims.
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Margot Robbie Is Making A Movie About The Sims – Yes, Really
Yes, a movie based on The Sims games really is in development. The Sims is a life simulation video game series that has been around since the year 2000. Developed by Maxis, the games allow players to create their own characters, known as “Sims,” which they effectively have complete control over. Users can build houses for their Sims, make them fall in love and start a family, and ultimately dictate their moods. 14 The Sims games have been developed in total, and the franchise has sold almost 200 million copies worldwide.
Margot Robbie and LuckyChap Entertainment will produce the feature film adaptation, while Kate Herron and Briony Redman are set to write The Sims screenplay. Herron is best known as the director and executive producer of the first season of Marvel’s Loki miniseries on Disney+. She and Redman have also worked together on an upcoming episode of Doctor Who, which is set to be a part of Ncuti Gatwa’s first season. There is currently no director attached to the project, and no story details have been revealed. Nevertheless, that doesn’t mean there isn’t a wealth of possibilities for the film.
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Margot Robbie’s New Video Game Movie Has So Much Potential
Some might balk at the idea of a Sims movie. After all, like Barbie and so many other films that have come out in recent years, a Sims adaptation could be seen as just an excuse to capitalize on a well-known brand. However, it’s hard to deny the movie’s potential. The Sims games, by their nature, have no plot, as their narrative is entirely dictated by the player and is free of the kinds of restrictions that come with most other video games. This key difference is what makes the proposal of a Sims movie an intriguing and unique one.
Most video game adaptations, be they film or TV shows, are constrained by the plot of the game. The Sims movie, on the other hand, will have license to do whatever it wants. This opens up a world of story possibilities and creative directions for the film to go in, meaning that Robbie, Heron, Redman, and The Sims movie’s director will be able to put their own stamp on the well-known brand. In many ways, by developing The Sims film essentially from scratch, its makers will almost be mirroring the games’ ethos and its sandbox-style of gameplay.
Barbie Proves The Sims Adaptation Can Work With The Right Approach
It’s hard to believe now, but before Barbie became a billion-dollar movie and the cultural phenomenon it is today, there were many people who doubted it could work. Yet, with its humorous and self-aware approach, combined with deeper themes of femininity and what it means to be a woman, Barbie managed to win over many of its doubters. The upcoming Sims movie has the opportunity to do the same thing. If it can employ a similarly zany tone while making intelligent points about free will and choosing one’s own destiny, it stands every chance of being a hit.
Another reason that the Sims film could end up being a success is that, lately, audiences have shown an appetite for films about characters who break out of their own fictional worlds to venture into the real world. Barbie is one example of this, but it’s not the only one. 2021’s Free Guy, starring Ryan Reynolds, similarly tells the story of a video game character who becomes aware that he is in a game, and so breaks through to our world. While The Sims movie may want to avoid repeating this trope, it might prove beneficial to lean into it.
